My rants, raves and occasionally humorous views of Life, Liberty and especially the Pursuit of Happiness.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Divine Inspiration

Many years ago one of my professors asked me a question; I just sat there for a minute, staring into space, pondering my answer. I guess that I had pondered the question too long because the professor then asked me if I was waiting for a “divine inspiration”. The Prof then moved on to another student with his question, leaving me looking like the idiot that I was.

Since that day, I have realized that there are no such things as divine inspirations. You either know the answer to the question or you do not have a clue. It’s not a bad thing to say “I don’t know”.

Today, I was asked a question, by a friend, which I could not answer. Instead of staring into space and waiting for the “divine inspiration”, I quickly answered “I don’t know”.

This is a very hard thing for me to do, as I pride myself on my vast knowledge on a great variety of subjects and my recall capability. I read a lot and have the ability to retain most of what I have read.

Some will say that I am a bit arrogant concerning my sagacity; saying that I am a Mr. Knows It All. But these same people still come to me for answers to their questions.

The asked question was about nothing important, but, none the less, a poignant question. Very unusually, I had no answer to this question and of course I didn’t wait for the “divine inspiration”.

I Googled the question late this afternoon and read all that I could about the subject. Now I can give my friend a informed answer.

The bottom line is that there is a wealth of knowledge available on the internet and on Blogs. I learned a lot about a subject that I had never would have thought about in the past. It was a friend’s question that took me there. It’s all part of the learning process.

If someone ever asks me the same question, I will not be waiting for the divine inspiration!